Old and New

The news recently reached me that artist Frank Baldacchino passed away peacefully at 92. For many, Frank remains unknown since, for several years, he had been living quietly in his studio in Qawra, working on small, intimate pieces without the ambition to show them in a personal exhibition.

Frank was one of the founders of the group known as Tal-Bottega, established at Café Dimitri, Valletta in 1947, making this art group the earliest modern art movement in Malta. The group preceded the Modern Art Circle, which eventually would become the Modern Art Group by five years. The group had organised only one exhibition, which took place at Palazzo De La Salle, Valletta in October 1950, but it had set the stage for modern, visual expression to flourish on the island.

The end of the group is associated with the post-war period, when most of the enthusiastic artists looked for possibilities abroad and emigrated. Frank went on to marry Manuela, née Calleja, in 1951 and had three children Luciano, Vincent and Mimi.

His legacy will remain an inspiration to many

Frank himself moved first to the UK and, eventually, to Australia, where he lived for three years while exhibiting his work regularly in Melbourne. On his return to Malta, he became close friends with artists Joseph Maria Genuis and Josef Kalleya and took part in a number of important exhibitions, such as Contemporary Artists held at the British Institute, Valletta, in 1957, the Commonwealth Institute of Art Exhibition in South Kensington, 1958, the British International Print Biennial in Bradford City Art Gallery, 1969, Mostra Internazionale al Museo Del Risorgimento, Rome, 1988, Art in Malta Today, St James Cavalier, 2000, and others. In 1964, he founded St John’s Art Gallery in in St John’s Street, Valletta.

Frank was also known for his art reviews, which appeared on the local newspapers under the nom de plume ‘Rota’, or simply under his initials. These writings provide an accurate record of the hardships and the beginning of modern art visual experience in Malta.

Frank chose to work as a recluse, he even did not bother to sign or date his works. He told me once that he wanted his works to speak for themselves, when the time came. His legacy will remain an inspiration to many.

Joseph Paul Cassar is professor of art at the University of Maryland University College in the US. He has written several books on modern and contemporary art in Malta.